Café Boulud — Restaurant in New York

An Unforgettable Dining Experience at Cafe Boulud

Cafe Boulud, a newly awarded Michelin Star restaurant in New York offering French cuisine, truly did not disappoint!

As someone who is passionate about food—especially French cuisine—and a big admirer of Chef Daniel Boulud, I was thrilled recently to dine at his restaurant Cafe Boulud.

On a lovely Tuesday at 5 PM, I was warmly welcomed by a gracious hostess (I believe her name was Anna or Anja; she was a classy Slavic lady, of that I'm certain!). While discussing my excitement for the dining reservation, she showed me the way to my table. The dining room was beautiful, bright, clean, and inviting. The tables were impeccably arranged, a hallmark of Chef Daniel's restaurants.

Once seated, I was eager to begin my culinary journey. A delightful server approached me with a warm smile, introducing herself as Deya. She said, “Good evening, my name is Deya, and it is my pleasure to take care of you this evening!” Her welcoming demeanor promised a great and professional service.

As I browsed the menu, I ordered a drink to start, which was delivered to my table within three minutes, again with a smile. Deya provided detailed descriptions of each menu item, showcasing her impressive knowledge of the ingredients. I was amazed by her ability to help me visualize each dish; it truly was mind-blowing. Excellent job, Deya! Cafe Boulud team should be very proud to have you as a representative of their restaurant! She didn’t disappoint with a wine recommendation, but I gave her all open hands so she can choose for me-whatever she likes!

Now, onto the highlight of the meal—food! Following Deya's recommendations, I decided to create my own course menu. For my first course, I chose the St. Jacques—pan-seared scallops. Oh my, the scallops were seared to perfection, served atop a creamy purée and complemented by a delightful sauce—simply delicious! For my second course, I had the Ravioli—a homemade pasta ravioli with fennel confit in the best sauce I’ve ever tasted, combined beautifully with lobster. Lastly, for my third course, I selected the Black Sea bass—a fish wrapped in crispy potatoes served with a red wine sauce. The presentation was stunning!

Now, let’s talk about dessert! As a pastry chef myself, I love trying and enjoying desserts. There’s nothing like a delightful finale to a dining experience. Deya kindly offered to explain the dessert menu and suggest ideas. I mentioned my desire for some ice cream, choosing salted caramel and vanilla, along with her recommendation for Vacherin Orange Sanguine. The gelato presentation took my breath away—three separate scoops, each garnished differently (one with a light cookie, one with a meringue cookie, and the last one with a crunchy cookie). I was already so pleased with the gelato flavors that I felt I didn’t need another dessert, but Deya brought out a delightful cake she highly recommended. It was light, refreshing, and simply beautiful—I was thrilled to try it!

From the moment I walked in and took my seat, Deya was phenomenal. Her recommendations, knowledge, professionalism, and suggestions for food and wine pairings were top-notch. Thank you, Deya! I truly appreciate your hospitality and service! She went above and beyond by introducing me to F&B Manager Orhun, a pleasant gentleman who graciously gave me a tour of the restaurant, the private dining room, and engaged me in a lovely conversation about the restaurant's concept.

In conclusion, all I can say is, WHAT A NIGHT! Thank you to the entire Cafe Boulud team for ensuring your guests leave happy. Your hard work is truly appreciated!

I hope this year brings only the best, filled with kind and appreciative guests who admire the exquisite French cuisine crafted by Chef Daniel...

I hosted what one would consider "important" officials who also happen to be close friends from the Japanese foreign ministry. They came from Tokyo on official business and we took advantage to meet with them on a social occasion. My wife who works for the Japanese consulate in New York recommended this place. I like Daniel we go there often so she suggested a change in scenery and try this restaurant. I was reluctant because I am definitely the anti pretentious anti hype and crowded places individual. Food and wine are more about the taste and presentation and less about hot air and pretentiousness of the sommelier and staff. Similarly tables should be spaced out enough so that obnoxious guests at the next table do not look into your mouth for every word of conversation you make at your table. This place delighted in the food but it was a let down in the atmosphere and unnecessary pretentiousness of the staff. I did not like the taste of the wine that I selected with the help of the sommelier and I told her so. I told her the wine was "biting back". When she asked what that meant I explained it was burning like hard alcohol on the way down and was reflecting back like acid reflux. Instead of apologizing and making another suggesting she made a face, much not appreciated by customers like myself. I wanted to say positive and suggested that maybe it has to breathe a little more....I explained I am not a wine snob, but I know good whine when I taste it and one should not taste like that. I told here that when customers criticize her recommendation she spud listen and maybe share the feedback in the future. I had no choice but to drink the rather acidic wine which did get better as the time passed by. I am not sure if it was because of the effect of the wine itself or if indeed breathing more made it more tolerable. Next, they sensed there was a problem with the sommelier so they sent a lovely Japanese woman as the second sommelier which all of us much appreciated. I asked for another suggestion and she tried to sell me an opened bottle of wine that according to her was $1200 for $250. A restaurant should NEVER try and resell an open bottle of wine to anyone for a reduced price or otherwise. If I wanted a glass of wine from an open bottle I would have ordered that. Next on the crowded tables. I noticed as I was talking to my guests flipping back between Japanese and English with my translator while an obnoxious woman patron at the next table kept looking at me making faces. That was annoying and that is because the tables are not spaced out sufficiently. Obnoxious patrons should be zoned out to the obnoxious section of the restaurant and staff should pay more attention to their guests' comfort.

Overall I think I will be sticking with Daniel. If you have "important guests" and like the taste of good wine and the freedom to express your discontent to the sommelier DO NOT GO HERE!!! Similarly if you want to avoid an obnoxious crowd hanging onto every word of your conversation. at the next table avoid this place. Other than that it was a decent experience with outstanding food, not too much hospitality and mediocre service. The staff was surprised that I was talking to them in French but...

My recent Cafe Boulud experience (at Maison Barnes, to be exact), to my surprise, left a lot to be desired. It was my first time leaving a Boulud restaurant feeling dissatisfied about the food and service. For one, and I know this sounds trite, but having been to other Boulud restaurants I can say that the portion sizes at Cafe Boulud are generally less than at his other restaurants, and when you essentially only offer 1-3 bites per dish then each and every single bite has to be phenomenal which unfortunately they weren’t.

What was most surprising was the duo of beef. It wasn’t executed well. The dry-aging or infusion or however else they treated the beef before cooking resulted in, nicely put, a lemongrass smell that could also pass for a wet-towel odor that was honestly not appetizing at all and certainly not with beef that was also a tad over-salted. Even more surprising was that, if there were any dry-aging involved, then it should’ve softened the tendons within the NY strip portion such that it’s a smooth experience in the mouth, but each bite was gristly and chewy. For a $20 surcharge on top of the $135 for three dishes, it was a very dissatisfying dish. The chicken, or poulet à l’estragon, was fine but also unnecessarily small in its portion size such that it forced you to focus on each bite in a way that made clear that no bite was really extraordinary.

I should also note that the amuse-bouche of beet tartare was pleasant, but boring, and the additional pina colada bonbons were the same.

On service - while the service wasn’t altogether horrible, there was one big mistake where whoever our server was failed to notice and alert the sommelier that our wine glasses were empty in advance of our entrees arriving, so my dining partner and I were sitting there watching our entrees cool for at least 10 minutes while we waited for the sommelier to arrive and pour us wine to go with our entrees. One of the servers had approached in the interim to ask us if they can get us a glass of wine, but also didn’t have the wine list on hand or could say much about the wine which was a baffling situation to be put in - were we supposed to just say “red” or “white” as if we were ordering from a flight attendant in economy class? Finally, when I made the reservation the hostess had asked and I had answered that we were there celebrating a new job, but there was no mention at all about it and no extra details offered by the waitstaff. All that is fine, and we were perfectly happy with each other’s company, but then don’t ask to begin with.

It is a beautiful space and I may go again to grab a drink for that reason. However, in terms of fine dining and special occasions, I don’t think Cafe Boulud is worth...